Startup Connects Multiple Monitors Over USB

Startup Newnham Research has released a software-based rendering engine that replaces a DVI or VGA monitor cable with one based on standard USB, to allow the quick and easy addition of multiple monitors.

Startup Newnham Research has released a rendering engine that replaces a DVI or VGA monitor cable with one based on standard USB, to allow the quick and easy addition of multiple monitors.

Interestingly, peripheral maker Kensington has signed on as Newnham's first customer, and will take the technology in a new direction, designing a universal docking station for laptops.

The Newnham "NIVO" technology works best in an office environment, where displays are being used to render largely static images, documents and web pages, according to Michael Ledzion, chief executive officer of Newnham, which has offices both in Cambridge, England as well as Palo Alto, Calif.

The technology originated from the thought that users aren't buying two or three monitors at once, but adding on, slowly, over time, Ledzion said. Users might start out with a single-headed graphics card, but be forced to upgrade to a multimonitor card if they wanted to add another display, an expensive process, he said. The process becomes more difficult with a laptop, although products like the Matrox DualHead2Go also can split a conventional VGA/DVI signal to two separate displays.

"The answer is that our feeling  well, backed up by our research  is that the thing that's holding back the aftermarket is the realization that connecting a graphics card to a PC is hard, and expensive, and that adding another monitor complicates the process further," Ledzion said. "The obstacle is easy connectivity."

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